GUANGZHOU - China's largest fishery administration ship, "Yuzheng 312," began its maiden patrol on the South China Sea on Friday.

China's largest fishery administration ship, "Yuzheng 312," begins its maiden patrol on the South China Sea on March 22, 2013. [Photo/CFP]

The ship, the Chinese fleet's largest in terms of displacement, left Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong province, at 10:30 am on Friday. It sailed to the Nansha Islands in the South China Sea to carry out a law enforcement mission.

The vessel has a displacement of 49.5 million tonnes and a navigation capability of 2,400 nautical miles with a maximum speed of 14 knots.

Routine fishery administrative patrols around the Nansha Islands will be carried out to better safeguard the legitimate interests of Chinese fishermen, a Chinese fishery official said last month.